Prison: The Inside Story

Transforming Lives as an Officer and Educator

From corrections officer to prison teacher, author shares his experiences and passion for education and its transformative powers

Traverse City, Michigan—It’s not hard to imagine a more jarring adjustment than the one Jack Myette made in 1989 as he moved from Cancun, Mexico with its sun, sand, and surf to Michigan where he took a job as a corrections officer working with the criminally insane at a psychiatric prison. In Prison: The Inside Story, Mission Point Press, (July 24, 2025), Myette offers an unflinching look at his twenty-five-year career with the Michigan Department of Corrections. At times startling and disturbing, at times darkly humorous, the narrative challenges preconceived notions about prisoners.

Myette dodged a swinging pool stick and sidestepped an airborne chair. He helped cut down hanging inmates, and during a room rush, a 275-pound convict grabbed an officer’s plexiglass shield and swung it with such force that it knocked Myette’s helmet off. His decade of experience as an officer provided excellent training for the next fifteen years as he transitioned from corrections officer to prison teacher. Myette shares his experiences in Prison: The Inside Story to reveal the world and perspectives of prison officers, teachers, and, most importantly, inmates.

The Most Bizarre Incidents

Just a few days after beginning his career with the Department of Corrections and experiencing “the most bizarre incidents I had ever seen … in a world that most people will never see,” he remarked to his co-workers that “someone needs to write a book about this place.” The gauntlet was thrown to Myette. “They looked at each other and the alpha officer said, ‘You’re the only college boy here, you write the book.’”

Challenge accepted. Using pocket-sized notebooks every day for twenty-five years, Myette recorded the names, dates, and times associated with the events that profoundly impacted him. As each notebook became full, he tossed it into a shoebox and started another. “After I retired, I organized the notebooks—they were essential to my work as I sat down to write,” Myette shared.

Advance Praise

Myette considers his move from corrections officer to teacher a turning point for him, acknowledging studies that show education being the best way to reduce recidivism. He’s hopeful that Prison: The Inside Story will help others understand the reality of inmates. “I believe most adults are curious about true crime and prison. My book will help educate prison employees, police officers, educators, political figures, and citizens concerned with prison reform, privatization, the homeless, and prison overcrowding.”

Advance praise for Prison: The Inside Story from Dr. Michael Wells, retired research associate, University of Chicago:

“From the despair of many inmates to the indifference of staff, Jack tried to bring about change. The reader will be appalled and disgusted at times but will come away knowing inmates are just people like the rest of us.”

The Author

With a major in art education and minors in speech and drama, Jack Myette was an unlikely candidate to work twenty-five years in Michigan prisons. Fascinated by the inmates, he documented events and conversations from the inside. Now retired, Myette lives with his wife in Northern Michigan. He enjoys photography, bike riding, gardening, writing, playing guitar, and listening to live music.

The Book

Prison: The Inside Story

Jack Myette

300 pages, 6 x 9 inches, B/W

Biography, Autobiography, True Crime, Education

ISBN: 978-1-965278-40-6, $27.95 (Hardcover)

ISBN: 978-1-965278-41-3, $18.95 (Softcover)

Mission Point Press, July 24, 2025

Copies are available for preorder at Bookshop.org, Amazon, and other online retailers. On its July 24 publication date, it will be available for purchase wherever books are sold. For information or to arrange for signings and events, contact the author at jmyette1956@gmail.com.